Blackout
The Blackout was an event that occured during the Zero Year, it was known for being a challenge from the Riddler to Gotham City. Though very few believed in the Batman, his legendary sightings ceased for a while after this with the Riddler claiming to have killed him. The event was the second one to have occured in Gotham's reset, following the Showdown at A.C.E. Chemical. Prelude After turning Bruce Wayne over to the Red Hood Gang, Edward Nygma was fired from his position at Wayne Enterprises. Turned insane, Nygma decided to turn to masked criminality, much like the Red Hood Gang and the Black Mask Gang. Following the dissolution of the Red Hood Gang, Nygma debuted, cutting power to the city just in time for a hurricane. This initially caused chaos, resulting in Sal Maroni inadverdently getting the Mob involved in Haley's Circus' business. Conditions shortly after were calm enough for Philip Kane to have a proper funeral, though criminal activities started almost shortly thereafter with police being brought in from Metropolis for relief prior to the hurricane. With the Red Hood Gang's Supervillain effect inspiring another gang, the 99#ers, anarchy began to erupt in a Gotham with no power. Although easily defeated, it was the Black Mask Gang that posed the highest threat. Stealing power batteries, estimated to be worth more than diamonds in case the hurricane was severe. Despite their power over the GCPD, Lieutenent Gordon managed to expose Roman Sionis as a criminal. When meeting with Lucius Fox, Bruce Wayne was attacked by Dr. Death. Although he was saved by Lieutenant Gordon. Becoming Batman, Bruce began to research Dr. Death, though was attacked by the police and nearly killed. However, he was saved by Gordon and let go free. Just as the hurricane was about to arrive and hit Gotham City, the recently debuted Superman decided to try and stop it. The Coast Guard also started to evacuate ships from the Gotham Harbour at this time. Although Superman failed to stop the vortex, he was able to help aid a frieghter. Soon after he aided the poorer citizens of Gotham by helping them make makeshift shelters to stave off the storm. The Battle Dissolution With power cut to the city, nobody noticed as the dissolved Red Hood Gang's members began to be killed off one by one by a mysterious bandaged man. A meeting organized by a member of the Untitled to regroup the gang, it was interrupted by Talia al Ghul and Jason Todd. After al Ghul killed the Untitled member, the gang was denied it's new leader. The gang was almost subsequently denied it's revival after the mysterious bandaged man ended up being the Joker, who proceeded to blow up a gas main and slaughtered all remaining members of the gang. Anarchy Although the streets remained relatively calm before Hurricane Rene, the city's condition began to decay, with buildings beginning to crumble and flood as food began to become sparse. The GCPD began to work overtime to try and prevent total chaos from happening, but were unable to do so. Barbara Gordon and James Gordon Jr. barely managed to survive the cataclysmic event, with their house being consumed by a sinkhole. The government of the United States of America became very invested in avoiding a situation akin to prior hurricane disasters. Sending in the Marine Corps, the Gotham City Football Stadium was designated as an evacuation zone once the majority of the hurricane had passed; though large showers had continued to pour. During their evacuation, the Marines came into contact with Anarky. However, John Stewart was able to stop Anarky and organize the evacuation, after which he ended his service with the Corps. The anarchy in the streets saw philantrophist Moira Queen arrive in Gotham to aid the poorer. One of the first Supervillains decided to target her, debuting as the Moth. The Moth was one of the citizens with the technology to use the war zone known as Gotham to his advantage. Just as he got to Queen, however, he was attacked by the Batman and then the debuting Green Arrow. While Queen was taken by Green Arrow, Moth was taken to the authorities by the Batman. Death's Death After escaping Dr. Death's lair in the catacombs, Batman revealed to Gordon that if the city's power is turned back on, the Riddler will be given access to all electronic equipment in the city. Attempting to convey this information to corrupt officer Dan Corrigan, Gordon failed to convince his partner. Attacking Dr. Death in a large blimp, Batman lost the electronic jammer capable of stopping the Riddler. However, he did manage to trick Death into killing himself. However, the Riddler nonetheless managed to gain control of the city's electronics. Destroying the floodgates, the Riddler allowed the mass of Hurricane Rene to hit the city, destroying much of it. Massive tidal waves hit the city, flooding it. The Riddler also caused several GCPD blimps to crash. Aftermath Bruce Wayne changed out of his Batman garb and was rescued by Duke Thomas. The Riddler used the city's weak state to gain control of it's communications satellites and caused rampant plant growth all around the city due to a formula devised by Pamela Isley. He used robots designed by Powers Industries to patrol the city and challenged the citizens with riddles. A Navy DEVGRU team also arrived to assist the GCPD and try and negotiate with the Riddler. Category:Battles Category:Conflicts